Time Telling
by Kuchiki Jeanne
Summary: In which Rinoa messes with clocks, Squall takes coffee breaks, four small numbers carry simple messages, and the author does not make any sense. Two-shot, finally COMPLETE. Chapter two rewritten.
1. 1:43 am

_**A/N:**__ Hello! Here's my first attempt at a real... ish Squinoa fic. It ended up being weird, yet I'm not on "anything". (Well, if medicines don't count. I'm actually suffering from colds and cough.) Okay, it doesn't make sense. As hard as I tried, some of them characters are still OOC at best and my proofreader eyes are getting tired, so apologies in advance for plot, character, spelling/grammar mistakes! So sorry this didn't get posted sooner, too. I had to change my plot twice before finally sticking with this one. More explanations below~_

_**Disclaimer:**__ Final Fantasy is not mine, as always. Since when has it ever been?_

* * *

"I see. That's too bad, then," Rinoa speaks into her mobile phone, currently held in place between her ear and her right shoulder. She sets down a small, blue screwdriver on the foldable table and returns a handful of small screws into the circular canister beside them, then holds her phone with her right hand once more, listening to the person on the other end intently.

"Mm-hmm... mm- yeah... Yeah, I will." She exhales, then gets up and walks towards the open window. "... Okay, thanks. Take care, as well... Bye." Rinoa presses the End Call button and folds her phone, placing it by the bed. Panning her eyes around the mechanical mess that is currently her room, she sighs dejectedly and plops down on the covered mattress without bothering to take off her bandanna and oil-spilt shirt.

Squall had called to say that he couldn't return to Balamb that night due to delays in the scheduled meeting with Trabia Garden, and that he would be back the next day. Disappointed as she was, it was not like Rinoa could meet with him, either, as she was still putting together the set-up of bulbs in parallel circuit for her first demonstration in physics class. (She messed up with a dry cell earlier and accidentally let go of it in shock, knocking an oil can in the process.)

The young sorceress had always wanted to be of more help to her knight and to Garden, so she immediately said yes when they offered to train personnel to be in charge of the inner mechanics of the mobile campus. However, her physics grades from high school were not credited due to some technical reason or other, so she was asked to retake the general physics course in Garden to earn the missing units. Unlike most of her classmates, junior SeeD cadets who were only assigned to take the subject, she sees it as more of an interesting venture into the unknown, a deeper understanding of something new and additional integration into her new life with the institution.

_Bip-bip-biiiip!_ Rinoa reaches a hand to her work table and pushes the switch on the third digital alarm clock from the left end. She didn't need to look anymore to know which clock made which sound, after "bonding" with them for several weeks on end. She'd found them a month earlier among a pile of metal scrap while on a trip to the basement with Zell, with whom she split the broken clocks for repair. They are currently on a race to see who finishes repairing (in her case, experimenting on) their share of clocks first. Seifer scoffed at the idea, howling in laughter as he walked away with Fujin and Raijin. Irvine checks on them and chronicles their progress almost every other hour. Quistis and Xu watch the turn of events with interest. Selphie was refused a share of clocks and told to go down and get them herself. Squall rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," she silently repeats to herself his trademark one-liner, echoing what he did when he found out about the competition from a complaining Selphie. She swears she caught a glimpse of a small smile grace his lips, though, as he said this, before he quickly returned to work mode and curtly dismissed the perky female mercenary, along with the access keycard to the Garden Master basement.

Rinoa would laugh at that particular memory whenever it resurfaced - which for her, was every time she worked on her clocks. Most likely, Squall was just bewildered at the idea of either her sudden interest in mechanics _(But she has already been ever since, unless he didn't notice; take her extensive knowledge on how Vinzer Deling's train worked, for instance_), or Zell competing in something that does not involve martial arts or hotdog eating. (_But this was also common knowledge. If not... well, Zell's also a guy; what did he expect?_) There was also that wild, farfetched idea that squeezed itself into her mind that Squall developed a phobia of clocks and time in general, given their battle with Ultimecia and his traumatic experience in time compression. She'd immediately dismissed it, of course - it was very improbable, and not funny. She had to admit, though, that the Sorceress of Time was most likely the reason many of the junior Garden students' time-telling devices found themselves a new home in the basement.

After several minutes of her random mind rambling, she finally rises from the bed and grabs a clean set of clothes from the drawer. She spends a good half hour in the cold shower, coming out just in time for dinner at the cafeteria. She orders a pasta bowl and a bottle of juice for takeout, then heads over to the Quad to pick up Angelo, whom she dropped off earlier with a group of junior cadets who volunteered to take care of her while she was at physics class. When they get back, Rinoa moves the foldable table with her project to the back and prepares her dog's sleeping area while watching the latter eat.

Angelo finally settles down after a couple of hours, during which time Rinoa herself has eaten and cleaned up, all while conversing on the phone with Quistis. Zell had also called to check on her, doing so in Squall's absence. Selphie was cheering in the background, having found stuff she could repair herself, as well as something of hers she thought she lost before when she first set foot on Balamb Garden. They finally hang up at 9:00, and the sorceress puts her phone on silent mode to continue working on her mechanical projects.

She finishes her physics project faster than expected, so she decides to fix another clock - it was her second to the last. Rinoa judged that Zell must also be about done with his share. (For a long time, she has admired the tattooed SeeD's way of getting things done in an orderly manner. It was one of his more positive qualities.) She glanced at the digital calendar to her left; it was half an hour before midnight. She bites her lower lip and stares at the little gadget she was about to dismantle, seemingly hesitating for a moment, before finally unscrewing the back cover.

-x-

Rinoa is awoken by a series of low, dull beeps. For how long she'd dozed off, she has no idea. With eyes half open, she groggily lifts her head off her work table and stretches her arms, then wipes her face with her handkerchief. She pans her eyes around the room, which was now darker than she last remembered. Feeling more awake, she reaches over and flicks off the last alarm clock she did the previous night, wondering why it set off when she knew she had turned the sound off. As she did, she happens to read the time at which it was set to ring - 1:43 a.m.

"That late already?" she mumbles to herself. Blinking a few times to keep awake, she shifts her attention to the clock she attempted to fix before falling asleep and notices a piece of paper folded in half pinned underneath. Rinoa's eyes narrowed in inquisition; she might have been inattentive due to sleepiness, but she was certain that paper was not there before. Letting out a small frown, she briefly glances at the door, which was still closed, then back at the paper, deciding what to do with it. Letting natural curiosity and instinct take over, she finally relents and unfolds it.

_Rinoa,_

_Go to sleep. You'll need energy for your class tomorrow._

_Don't stress yourself over your 'competition' with Zell. Your health is more important._

_Call me first thing tomorrow._

_I locked the door on my way out. Don't forget next time; it's for your own good._

As she reads, a mixture of emotions sweeps over her, a number of which expresses themselves on her face. She does not know whether to laugh or to cry at her boyfriend's short, blunt sentences, no matter how used to them she already is. She knows from the start how much he cares for her, because she also feels that way, that much, towards him. What she is truly amazed about now is how more open he has become in expressing himself, his feelings - even if it is only by a very small degree. The Squall she first knew would most likely never expose his sentiments on these matters - much less permanently on paper, where someone could read it. These kinds of notes were very much more than normal for most, but Rinoa sees this development as a plus, a small step further in their relationship. She couldn't say she didn't hope for anything more, but for now, she's happy to take it slow, to wait it out and see what happens. Maybe next time, he'd write her something longer.

Rolling her eyes, the sleepy sorceress tucks the note behind her phone and clears the table of repair equipment. As she does, a small smile creeps up her face as she now noticed more clearly one by one the few changes her knight made to her room. She silently checks on a sleeping Angelo, the top of its little space now roofed with the makeshift night sky they had painted together when she first moved in. She then makes her way to the door and slides the inside chain lock in place, then turns the knob beside the light switch to return its intensity to normal before turning it off. Before finally going to sleep, she adjusts her digital calendar for the next day, briefly remembering the time at which Squall set the alarm clock before he left.

_1:43... Of course_. Rinoa stifles a giggle. _I see what you did there, Squall. _

She wished tomorrow would come soon.

* * *

_**A/N: **__This is just part one of two. There's more to come._

_Anyway! I've written this story for the __**Where I Belong challenge**__, set up by Ashbear / Eternal Tiet. It's a large-scale Squinoa writing and multimedia challenge that aims to celebrate the timeless relationship between the angelic sorceress and her noble knight. You may submit fanfiction, graphics, fan-art, fan-videos, whatever suits your fan-cy. It's slated for this whole month of August, so for those who are interested, you may check out the link to the WIB forum on my profile._

_So to my readers out there, please review not only this story but also the other fanworks for the challenge! (Everything's on the forum and on the LiveJournal master list.) This isn't just time to show our favorite couple some love, but also to support our fellow Squinoans. Hope to see you around (and in the challenge, as well). God bless!_

_-KJ, out at 08122012, 0123h_


	2. 1432 h

_**A/N:** ... Hmmm, what else to say, except that it's about time I finished this? Got no excuse now, since this is the last long weekend I get before *gasp* midterms! (Okay, so we call them prelims here. Doesn't matter.) Hopefully not going to be a letdown, since my brain's been fried for the past week. I just knew those profs would mercilessly dump on us all the work we missed during class suspension. I just know... _

_**(Update, 08212012, 0230h: I rewrote parts of the chapter, as I'm not satisfied with how it turned out, reading it again over lunch while offline and all. I know I should have checked it one more time and waited some more before uploading, but I was already too sleepy. Well, that's what happens when your brain is deep-fried beyond any and all recognition. Now back to prelims - *ahem* - MIDTERMS.)**_

_**Warning:** (Maybe) off-character Squall, since I'm not good at writing him. (Huhu.)_

_Disclaimer: Final Fantasy is not mine, yadda yadda yadda, and all that stuff. You know the drill._

* * *

"Okay. So, tonight then?" Squall speaks into his mobile phone, holding it with his left hand as he sits down on his office chair. He places the sheaf of papers he retrieved from the pigeon box on his desk before wheeling himself to the window, his attention on the person on the other end of the conversation.

"Yeah... You take care of yourself, too." He rises from his seat and adjusts the controls on the automated window blinds. "... See you later, then." Squall ends the call, and finishes punching in the necessary settings. After a few moments of watching the area outside Garden, he types in a note on his phone, then leaves it on the desk.

Rinoa had kept her promise to call him that morning, as he'd asked her to do in the note he'd written last night (or rather, several hours before). He'd just returned from the meeting at Trabia some time past midnight, and he'd immediately checked on his girlfriend when a faculty member on night patrol told him that the lights in her dorm room were still on. He'd found her sleeping, of course, with a partially-disassembled clock on her desk and her physics project on the counter.

Squall looks away from the window, a small smile now on his face. The young sorceress had always expressed her desire to help Garden in any way she could, especially after everything that happened and everything she "owes Garden until now". To the surprise of many, except for himself and their friends, she signed up right away when they offered to train in-house technical personnel for maintenance and repair of the mobile campus. However, as she lacked units in general physics, she is now retaking the subject to re-credit the prerequisite units. She takes every lesson to heart and spends a lot of her free time reviewing the basic concepts. Time and again, she proves that she can hold her own "fair and square" against the higher-ranking members of the class. He can't deny his growing admiration (and partly, amusement) for her focus, determination and tenacity, even in doing these kinds of things.

_Biiiiiip! _Squall walks over to the coffee maker and flicks the switch off. The pot and brewer were a gift from Selphie and Irvine on his "office-warming party", as his friends called it - not that he sees the necessity of both party and machine, anyway. He himself doesn't drink coffee often, but he keeps it around in case visitors would like something to drink. Rinoa would also pour herself a cup once in a while when she drops by. She does so more often the past few days, now that she pulls all-nighters for both her physics course and her personal project.

"Whatever," he had expressed to himself when he'd found out about this from a seemingly-tearful Selphie, who'd stormed into his office a week ago, demanding access to the basement. Apparently, Zell and Rinoa had found loads of alarm clocks down there, and split a number between them to repair. (Miss Tilmitt, it seemed, was mildly bitter about not being given a share of clocks, and thus went to Commander Leonhart to complain.) He'd rolled his eyes at this turn of events, both because it seemed that most of the younger students at Garden had still not overcome their phobia of clocks since the Ultimecia threat, and because the sorceress and the martial artist already turned it into a competition without checking with the Garden staff. (They, he found out later, were more than alright with it; Cid and Edea even wished both participants luck the last time they visited.) Squall dismissed Selphie at first, asking her to return the next day, as it was already too late. But several minutes and a little convincing from Rinoa later, the once-again-cheerful female SeeD exited triumphantly from the office with the keycard to the sub-ground levels.

Squall would now laugh to himself every time he remembers the incident. More than a year into their relationship, he's still the same rookie SeeD being led along by this girl who suddenly came into his life. Even now, it doesn't take long for his sorceress to work her magic until she finally has him dancing in her palm to her tune. It wasn't in a bad way, of course; most of said experiences stem from her trying to get him to loosen up. He definitely had to admit that it was mostly to her that he'd usually open up to, and through her that he slowly learned to take things easy once in a while - something that he has been, and will always thank her for.

The desk phone rings, bringing Squall out of his short reverie. Nida is on the other line, requesting Squall's presence on the bridge. After a short conversation, the SeeD commander turns out the lights, grabs his office keycard and mobile phone and then heads out.

-x-

Squall returns to his office in a brisk walk after lunch, mentally cursing himself for forgetting to read and sign certain important SeeD reports that have been forwarded to his office. Xu had informed him of them first thing when he clocked in for work that morning, but it had slipped out of his mind once the other regular notices and mission reports came in. Upon arriving, he wastes no time in pulling out the lengthy documents from the bottom of the pile and begins reviewing the afternoon's worth of work.

Around half an hour or so into the silent activity, the mobile phone vibrates for the umpteenth time on the desk. After quite some time of ignoring it, Squall finally retrieves it from the far end of the desk and flips it open disinterestedly, going through through the stream of messages he let pile up for the duration he'd left it alone. Deeming most of them unimportant, he proceeds to delete the whole batch when the latest, one from Rinoa, stops him from doing so. Deducing that it must be another one of those 'group messages,' he raises an eyebrow, wondering why she would send one now of all times.

_"I stand before fifty Romans. Nothing comes before five; invert three, and you will come next."_

_Just sharing. Don't stress yourself too much, okay? There are still some coffee beans left over from the last stop-over at FH. :)_

_- Rin_

A ghost of a smile passes the sorceress knight's lips. If anything, she'd certainly found out, one way (or feeling) or another, that he is already on the verge of dozing off as he is skimming through the reports for the afternoon. It would seem that Rinoa's "sorceress' senses" are at work again, but Squall prefers to think of it as a testament to how close they have become in the long time they have known each other, so much that they already understand what is behind the subtle signs, behind certain actions and expressions that they keep only between themselves. They have not yet taken their relationship any step much further than that, but he is content with it for now, and so is she. They are not in a hurry; slowly and surely, they will learn.

Also, the fact that he now entertains these thoughts is a first. Not that he needed any cliched reflections playing out in his mind, but he is okay with them once in a while.

Smoothing a hand over his hair, Squall shifts his attention to the report he was last reading. As soon as he finishes it, he heads over to the coffee machine to pour himself a cup, adding a heap of caramel-flavored creamer to it just as Rinoa does. As he sips the hot drink, he reads the brain teaser she sent him again. Trying not to overly take it seriously, he absent-mindedly scrolls down to the message details and reads the timestamp.

_Received:_  
_1432h, 08-20-X198_  
_From:_  
_Heartilly, Rinoa_  
_+08-09331891415_

A smirk spreads over Squall's face, the best he could do to try to hide his great amusement (and to a certain extent, laughter). Rinoa is definitely playing his game - as if there were any other way to do so, especially after the note he left in her room the night before. Moreover, she'd intentionally dropped a hint where no one, not even he, would think of looking. He returns to his desk once more, setting down the half-empty cup in his hand beside the pen holder. He reaches for a ballpen at first, but then decides against it. After reading the text message to himself one last time, he finishes the coffee and settles down, waiting for a few moments before continuing his work once more.

The answer to her riddle will have to wait until much, much later. And this time, he'll let her know personally.

* * *

_**A/N:** And with that, I finally **(and yes, FINALLY)** conclude Time Telling. **(Now I feel MUCH better.)** Sorry if it may still be not much, but I hope you enjoyed it. =) _

_Oh, and first who gets the riddle right will receive a plate of e-cookies from me. **(I put in a small hint. Good luck!)**_

_I'll repeat this note for anyone, since additional reminding has not killed anyone (yet). I've written this story for the **Where I Belong challenge**, set up by Ashbear / Eternal Tiet. It's a large-scale Squinoa writing and multimedia challenge that aims to celebrate the timeless relationship between the angelic sorceress and her noble knight. You may submit fanfiction, graphics, fan-art, fan-videos, whatever suits your fan-cy. It's slated for this whole month of August, so for those who are interested, you may check out the link to the WIB forum on my profile._

_So to my readers out there, please review not only this story but also the other fanworks for the challenge! (Everything's on the forum and on the LiveJournal master list.) This isn't just time to show our favorite couple some love, but also to support our fellow Squinoans. **(Yay for Squinoa Republic!)** Hope to see you around (and in the challenge, as well). God bless!_

_**(KJ out, 08212012, 0315h)**_


End file.
